Black Doves: The Female-Led Thriller We’ve Been Crying Out For

Netflix

Netflix’s Black Doves is bringing something new to the thrilling new British spy drama – and we’re just obsessed with it.

This Christmas-time spy series stars Kiera Knightley as Helen Webb, a high-up politician’s wife who is feeding the government’s secrets to a spy network dubbed, The Black Doves, and Ben Whishaw (aka Paddington Bear) as paid assassin Sam, who is brought back into the hitman industry to help his friend and inadvertently face the demons of his past.

The new series conquers the iconic British spy genre as no other film or series has before. It includes all the much-loved factors of the genre like a very gritty London aesthetic and bucketloads of violence. But the thing that sets it apart from the likes of its predecessors is its very strong female cast.

From the kind yet resourceful Helen Webb to the cunning and intelligent Mrs. Reed (Sarah Lancashire) and of course the notoriously comical assassins, Williams and Eleanor, this female ensemble shows that a female-led spy series is exactly what the somewhat oversaturated male-dominated genre needed.

Netflix

It simply cannot be denied that Helen is the ultimate power woman in the series; she precariously balances her role as a caring mother with her not so legal side hustle of recounting all the country’s secrets, she finds out from her politician husband, Wallace Webb, to the Black Doves.

It is also the platonic relationship between Helen and her best friend Sam, who she meets at the beginning of her Black Doves career that draws viewers in. Their heartwarming friendship thickens the plot, and viewers will certainly fall in love with Sam’s heavy-hearted character.

The show’s ability to mix the festive season with violence and secrecy is applaudable. The opening scene butters us up with a jolly Christmas pub scene with the Pogue’s ‘Fairy Tale of New York’ adding to the festivities before three violent murders take place around London.

Netflix

These murders are the catalyst to the killings, secrets and heartbreak of the remainder of the series. It is no doubt that the show has been a resounding success for Netflix and has certainly given a new splash of colour to the spy genre.

Does this mean we can expect to see more female-dominating thrillers like this in the future? Who knows. But with the series already renewed for season two before it even began streaming, it looks as if we may not have to wait too long to see our favourite spying duo back to work once again.

So, what do we know so far about season 2? *Psst potential spoilers ahead*

To be honest we don’t know a lot other than the show has been confirmed for season two, which isn’t really surprising considering the very buildable end to season one. We can most lightly expect Kiera Knightley and Ben Wishaw to resume their roles in the series.

We can also assume Helen Webb to become even more important to the Black Doves in the upcoming season considering her Husband’s very hefty job promotion indicated at the end of season one. Sam has no choice but to bury his hatchet with a past foe and agree to work with him after putting himself in the firing line at the end of season one to repay Helen for the sacrifice she made seven years ago.

Finally, will Mrs. Reed return? and will she still have the same doubts about Helen Webb’s commitment to the Black Doves? I guess we will have to wait and see. We will just have to hope Netflix can make our wish of another Christmas release in 2025 come true.